Moira Forbes hosts the video series "Success with Moira Forbes" and "Women to Watch." She is publisher of ForbesWoman, a multi-media platform serving successful women in business and leadership. Representing four generations of publishers, Moira joined Forbes in 2001 in its London office. She graduated from Princeton University.

The 2013 Power Women Of Davos

Having finally unpacked my snow boots and corralled the last of the seemingly endless piles of business cards, the 2013 World Economic Forum seemed like a distant memory after I touched down in New York. Davos-dominated headlines also died down as quickly as those who ascended on the tiny Swiss town departed it. So it came as a bit of a surprise when the Forum took center stage at what I thought was going to be a casual, long-overdue catch up with a few girlfriends last weeks.

Just the brief mention of my trip ignited a heated debate around just how few women attended Davos this year – all before our first course was even served. For the next hour, the very same gender debate that gets played out at the onset of the Forum each year then played out at our dinner table. In spite of a gender quota enacted in recent years with all of WEF’s strategic partners, women still accounted for just 17% of overall attendees, a dismal number indeed. And this statistic comes to life at the most unexpected moments, like realizing that amidst a sea of dark suits, you’re the only one changing from the snow boots needed to navigate Davos’ icy terrain into 4-inch heels.

So why didn’t I leave Davos with the same pessimism and frustration voiced by my friends, or quite frankly, that seems to be conveyed in the gender gap headlines reported each year as if they were breaking news? And while we still have a long way to go in breaking barriers, why do we always take a ‘glass have empty’ approach to conversations around women’s advancement?

If we just rely on statistics to measure women’s progression into the highest levels of power – 17% female participation rate in the case of Davos – we fail to account for the extraordinary strides women continue to make around the world that just aren’t reflected in a percentage, and that were exemplified at Davos in a variety of encouraging ways.

One bright spot: 28 leaders from Forbes’ list of the 100 Most Powerful Women attended Davos this year and collectively, they exemplified how women are now at the epicenters of global power in politics, business, and the economy. What’s more, I’m encouraged that while they overcame significant obstacles, they aren’t ‘the first’ in their fields to achieve the top spot as a woman as more and more women (albeit slowly) haven risen to the highest ranks of power in recent years.

One such woman at Davos was German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Forbes’ most powerful woman in the world, whose influence and prominence continues to climb. Most political observers, friend and foe alike, credit her as the skilled quarterback in keeping the EU from shattering during these ever-precarious times. While Christine Lagarde (#8 on the Forbes list) isn’t at the helm of a government, she’s also more powerful than all but a handful of world leaders in her role as the head of the IMF, deftly urging countries to accept often unwanted prescriptions in order to fend off further economic afflictions.

In business, we all know that technology and social media are at the core of innovation – and economic growth. Seeing Facebook’sSheryl Sandberg alongside Arianna Huffington, next to Marissa Mayer was a powerful reminder that women’s influence is on the rise, even in fields/industries where their representation may still be limited. Who could have imagined 10 years ago that a woman would be running chemical giant Dupont (Ellen Kullman) with its nearly $50b market cap? Or that Harvard University, one of the most prestigious bastions of academic tradition that only began admitting female undergrads in the 1970’s, would appoint a woman to its top spot (Drew Gilpin Faust)? I was also encouraged to see those extraordinary champions dedicated to advancing women who attended Davos this year including Melanne Verveer, Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues, former Chilean president and the Executive Director of UN Women, Michelle Bachelet, as well as those leaders harnessing the power of business to empower women such as Dina Powell who oversees Goldman Sachs’ 10,000 Women Initiative, an effort to support underserved female entrepreneurs worldwide.

To that end, this backdrop made the 7th annual Forbes Power Women of Davos gathering all the more exciting and noteworthy. Dedicated to celebrating the dynamic female leaders of Davos, Forbes and Ernst & Young, including their own Power Woman, Global Vice Chair Beth Brooke, once again brought together over 350 global leaders with the mission of spotlighting the critical role women leaders play in shaping and advancing the global economy.

So, while it’s true that women made up barely one fifth of attendees at Davos this year, it’s clear that the influence of women – across multiple spheres – is expanding by leaps and bounds – whether it’s in the boardroom, the political arena or on the global state.

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